[access-uk] Re: Reading Machines

From: "ari" <aridamoulakis@xxxxxxxxx>

To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:14:24 +0200

Hi Ray,

Compared to other reading machines like Sara, the really expensive KNFB
reader, and even expensive software like Open Book, which doesn't even have
hardware, the price isn't that bad. Yesterday I emailed the company, and
they told me they would ship it to me and that it costs, I think $1900. OK
it is expensive, but my problem is that it's impossible here for me to get
Politics and International Relations books electronically, for example, I
need to do a thing on Africa's international relations and the cold war,
there's really no way I can get much in any accessible form, especially
because they're so academic and that sort of thing. my best bet is to lend
them from the library and read them by scanning or something, and even
that's really difficult because you get students marking in the books and
some even write in the book with pen, and that messes up the original
writing anyway. If I save up for a bit, I could probably get this after a
while, but I want to know if there are any other options and how good the
Eye Pal is. The KNFB reader for the mobile is around R15000, which is also
around $2000, and I definitely don't want to do that because I'd also have
to buy a phone, and I also just don't think I need or want something like
that. Open Book is already about $900, and then you always would have to
upgrade it, and you'd still have the whole scanner issue. This also comes
with one-year maintanence, and, best of all, a two-year waranty on the
hardware, plus they've agreed to let me try it for thirty days money-back
thing, so I could at least try it as well, so it wouldn't be a risk that I'd
be buying something which I might not like which I couldn't give back.
Ari